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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068114">A Lick of Paint</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/reminiscingintherain/pseuds/reminiscingintherain'>reminiscingintherain</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Direction (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, fluffy au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:27:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,324</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068114</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/reminiscingintherain/pseuds/reminiscingintherain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Louis ropes Liam into painting his house, but not on his own...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Lick of Paint</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/HisDarlin/gifts">Layne Faire (HisDarlin)</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy Birthday <a href="http://laynefaire.tumblr.com">Layne</a>!</p><p>Hope you enjoy this, and hope you have a wonderful birthday.. lots of love! &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    
  </p>
</div><p>"I can't believe I let you rope me into this, Tommo," Liam sighed as he climbed the ladder, bucket of paint slung over one arm and a paintbrush tucked into his back pocket. "Why couldn't you, I dunno, <em>pay</em> someone to paint your bloody house?"</p><p>"Because I need someone I can trust to do it," Louis called up from the front door, heaving a suitcase out onto the pavement. "I'm taking Haz away for a few days, and I want it to look nice for when we get back. He's been complaining about it for months, so it's a surprise."</p><p>"You want me to paint the whole damn house in less than three days?" Liam looked down in disbelief. "I may be efficient, but not even I can work that bloody fast!"</p><p>"Not on your own, no. But one of my mates from work is gonna come and help. He'll be here by midday, I promise." Louis heaved the case into the boot of the car. "Be nice to him? He's a bit shy."</p><p>"When have you ever known me not be nice?" Liam looked a little indignant as he loaded the brush and began to paint the side of the house carefully. "I remember your mum asking why you couldn't be more like me many a time."</p><p>"You lie, Payno. I'm shocked and appalled." Louis came back to the bottom of the ladder. "I'm going now. You'll be alright, won't you lad?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'll be okay. Have a good time. Say hi to Haz for me."</p><p>"Will do. See you in a couple days."</p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>Liam worked for the rest of the morning, moving the ladder carefully from one position to the next, making his way around the top section of the house. He rubbed his arm over his sweaty forehead as he descended the ladder again, glancing at his watch and frowning when he realised it was just after half past twelve, and there was no sign of Louis' mysterious friend. He sighed and went inside, fetching a bottle of water from the fridge, draining it easily before he returned outside, grabbing the paint again and climbing back up the ladder.</p><p>He hummed along to the radio he had playing on the porch, so didn't hear the approach of someone on foot, until a voice called up;</p><p>"Scuse me, are you Liam?"</p><p>Liam jumped and tipped the paint tin over, emptying the contents over the stranger down below, only able to stare in horror as one of the most beautiful men he had ever seen gazed back at him in disbelief.</p><p>"I know I'm a bit late, but I wasn't expecting that sort of reaction," he said drily. "I'm Zayn, I'm Louis' friend. I'm here to help you paint the house. Would you like me to just rub myself all over it now?"</p><p>"Oh my giddy giddy gosh, I am so so so sorry!" Liam apologised quickly, practically running down the steps of the ladder.</p><p>"It's fine," Zayn sighed. "I'll go grab a shower. Nick some of Lou's clothes. I'll be out again in a bit."</p><p>"Is there anything I can do to help?" Liam asked desperately.</p><p>"I think you've done enough to be honest, mate."</p><p>With a slight glare, Zayn took himself indoors and upstairs to the master bathroom for a shower. Liam sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face, feeling ridiculous and awkward, in a way he hadn't since he was a teenager. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket to text Louis.</p><p>
  <em>You didn't tell me your friend was that hot. Also, I dumped half a pot of paint on him.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Is there a reason you threw paint over Zaynie?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And yeah, I guess he's attractive, in an objective way.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'd never thought about it. He's just... Zayn.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>He's using your shower right now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He's gonna borrow some of your clothes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I feel so bad. What can I do to make it right with him?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Apologise?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Get him food. No pork though - he's Muslim.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He likes Chinese though.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now fuck off. This is supposed to be a romantic getaway.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's not romantic when I'm texting you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You can handle this, Leemo. You're a good lad.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Plus, Z's already told me that he likes the look of you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So you're already off to a good start.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Have fun!</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Wait, what????</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He LIKES me??</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Louis!!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You can't leave me like this!!!!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>WHAT DO I SAY TO HIM????</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dammit.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I hate you sometimes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Have a wonderful few days.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Give my love to Haz.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Liam sighed again and shook his head. He made his way inside to the kitchen, pouring himself another drink, then grabbed the takeout menus from the drawer where Louis kept a whole stash of them. He flicked through the pile, finding the local Chinese that Louis always swore by, then grabbed his phone. He placed an order, arranging for it to be delivered as soon as possible. He looked up at the ceiling as he heard the water stop.</p><p>A few minutes later, there were footsteps on the stairs, and Zayn appeared in the doorway, rubbing at his hair with a towel.</p><p>"Squeaky clean again?" Liam asked weakly.</p><p>"Yeah, thanks."</p><p>"Um, I uh, I ordered Chinese. It'll be here in about half an hour or so."</p><p>"Oh, wow, thank you."</p><p>"No pork, either. Uh, Lou said you didn't eat it?"</p><p>"That's really considerate of you, thank you."</p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Three days later</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>"Will you just shut your eyes, Haz, please?"</p><p>"Fine, fine, but you're being weird, Lou."</p><p>Louis turned into their road and drove down and onto the driveway, grinning at the excellent job that Liam and Zayn had done. He turned the engine off, then got out, jogging around to help Harry out of the car.</p><p>"Okay, you can open them," he said softly.</p><p>Harry stared up at the house, his jaw dropping.</p><p>"Oh my god, Lou, the house looks amazing!" Harry exclaimed. "How did you do this?"</p><p>"I roped in Liam and Zayn to help while we were away," Louis admitted. "They've done a much better job than I was expecting, to be completely honest."</p><p>"How dare you, Tomlinson," Liam huffed, stepping out of the house, with Zayn close behind.</p><p>"He's been a right perfectionist," Zayn told them. "It's been almost unbearable."</p><p>"But only almost, right babe?" Liam smirked at him.</p><p>"Wait, wait, what did we miss?" Louis stared at them. "Babe?? Are you two???"</p><p>"Eh, he'll do for now," Liam shrugged, then grinned. "Like you didn't plan it, Lou. You knew Zayn liked me, and you know I like pretty nerdish types."</p><p>"Don't call Zayn a nerd!" Harry protested. "He's adorable! We love Zayn!"</p><p>"But I am a nerd, Haz," Zayn chuckled. "It's fine. Did you have a good time away?"</p><p>"It was amazing," Harry gushed. "Lou took us to this adorable little bed and breakfast in the countryside, and we went on long walks, with the dog who lives there, cos the owners are getting a bit old, so they can't walk her as much as she needs, so they rely on guests to do it, and the dog - Cassie - is absolutely adorable. Oh yeah, and we found this gorgeous little gazebo out in the middle of nowhere, it's absolutely beautiful, and Louis proposed!" he finished with a beaming smile.</p><p>"That's awesome, congratulations guys!" Liam exclaimed, pulling Harry into a tight hug.</p><p>"Amazing news, well done," Zayn echoed, hugging Louis quickly.</p><p>"We'll leave you both with your freshly repainted home then," Liam added. "Let you get settled back in, and all that." He looked at Louis with a wink. "We did everything you asked for, so hopefully it's as you wanted it."</p><p>"If it's anything like the front, Leemo, it'll be perfect," Louis assured him. "And I hope you two will go have fun away from paint fumes and ladders."</p><p>"Zayn's taking me out for a meal, and then we're going to the cinema to see the new Marvel film," Liam grinned. "It's gonna be awesome."</p><p>"Haven't you seen that already? Like, three times?" Harry raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"But I've not seen it with Zayn," Liam huffed. "So it's gonna be different."</p><p>"Well, have a great evening," Louis said. "And thank you again."</p><p> </p><p>~~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Eighteen months later</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>"I can't believe they roped us into this," Louis muttered. "The house isn't even that bad!"</p><p>"Just shut up and paint, babe," Harry chuckled. "They did our house on their own - the least we can do is lend a hand to tidy the place up before they move in."</p><p>"They're disgusting though. I swear we were never that bad."</p><p>"You were worse," Zayn said as he crossed behind them. "Most of the time it was inappropriate verging on indecent."</p><p>"You're a liar, Malik. A stone cold liar."</p><p>"He's not though, babe," Harry chastised gently. "We have been pretty bad in the past."</p><p>"Shut up, Styles," Louis huffed.</p><p>"That's Tomlinson-Styles, thank you," Harry corrected. "As of three months ago, as you well know."</p><p>"I thought you were supposed to be painting, not bickering?" Liam looked a little confused as he approached the small group. "This is not getting paint on our walls."</p><p>"Yeah, alright, Payno!" Louis protested. "We're getting there! There's a lot of preparation needs to be done first!"</p><p>"Just put the paint on your brush and put the brush on the wall," Liam said slowly. "It's not rocket science. Stop trying to make it more complicated than it needs to be, and stop trying to get out of it. Just paint the damn wall."</p><p>"You suck, Liam."</p><p>"Yep, he does, pretty regularly too," Zayn agreed, then snickered at the shocked looks on his friends' faces. "Oh c'mon, it was right there!"</p><p>Liam blushed hard and pushed Zayn away from the other couple, going around the house to the back door.</p><p>"I could've gone a pretty long time without needing to know any of that," Louis muttered, looking a little sick.</p><p>"I think they've seen us in the middle of that before," Harry shrugged. "I'm sure that must be worse than the mental image of what you're thinking about." Harry grabbed the paintbrush and continued on with his section of wall. "Just get on with it, Lou." He loaded the brush with paint again and glanced over at his fiance. "Besides, it's really because of you that they're together. So think of this as like... karma, or something."</p><p>"Karma sucks ass," Louis huffed.</p><p>Harry snickered softly as he continued to paint, shaking his head slightly.</p><p>Around the side of the house, Liam was rambling to himself under his breath as he nervously slapped paint over one of the support beams of the building, not noticing that Zayn was stood with his arms folded, watching him intently.</p><p>"Okay, Payno," Zayn eventually said. "What's going on? You're acting really weird, and I'm getting a bit worried."</p><p>"W-what? Weird? M-me? No, no, no weird," Liam stammered. "I'm just... I want the house to look right for you. Is that okay?"</p><p>"Yeah, that's awesome, and I love you for it, but that still doesn't explain the weirdness, because no matter how much you wanna deny it, there is weirdness, and I'm not sure I like it."</p><p>"I promise, there's nothing wrong," Liam assured him. "I'm just. There's something I'm thinking about. That's all."</p><p>"Well, do you wanna talk it over?"</p><p>"No, not yet. But I will. Soon. I just need to get my head around it a bit more first. Is that okay?"</p><p>"Of course it's okay, love." Zayn stepped close to Liam and rested a hand on his cheek. "I've just been really concerned. You've been like this for days."</p><p>"I know, I know. I'm really sorry. I hope you don't feel like I've been ignoring you."</p><p>"No, not that. It's been a little bizarre, I guess. I'm so used to you being all in all the time, y'know? Like, I know that you'll always be there for me, and I know that I can always rely on you, but it felt a bit like... I should try not to be so clingy or something? Which sounds utterly ridiculous because we're moving in together and this place is literally perfect for us. But yeah. Feelings are stupid and irrational and illogical a lot of the time."</p><p>"They are, but they're still valid, and I should've opened my eyes to the fact that you were uncomfortable and worried." Liam sighed heavily, gazing at his boyfriend intensely. "You mean the whole world to me, Zayn. I love you so much, it scares me a little at times. There is literally nothing that I wouldn't do for you, babe. You're my everything, and I should never have allowed you to doubt that at all, in any way. So this is all on me. And I'm sorry. Especially as I realise now that all of the stress and worry from my end was completely pointless." He smiled softly, pressing a gentle kiss to Zayn's lips. "I know exactly what's going to happen, and I'm so happy, because you make me happy."</p><p>"Shut up," Zayn mumbled. "You're gonna make me think you're proposing or something."</p><p>"Uh, well," Liam blushed and ducked his head shyly.</p><p>"Oh fuck, did I just -- Leeyum! Tell me to keep my mouth shut when I start saying things I shouldn't! Cos you know I'm always gonna ruin shit like this by running my gob off! Oh fucking hell, I'm so sorry."</p><p>"Zayn, you're not shit, and you didn't ruin anything."</p><p>"But I --"</p><p>"Hush," Liam pressed a finger to Zayn's lips. "I love you with all of my heart, Zayn. Will you marry me?"</p><p>"That is one of the most ridiculous things you have ever asked me, because you should know what the answer is. A million times yes."</p><p>Liam gazed at Zayn for a few moments, before he kissed Zayn firmly.</p><p>"I love you too," he whispered. "Thank you for loving me."</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[<a href="https://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/post/612040055020716033/a-lick-of-paint-reminiscingintherain-zaynliam">Rebloggable tumblr post</a>]</p></blockquote></div></div>
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